May 17, 2011 – JEPOI's Adventures

I’ve been to Isla Parilla Resort many times before but, I didn’t have the chance to feature the place in my blog. Last Sunday, I was invited by my balikbayan friend to come with them and tour around the city. One of our itineraries was to go to Isla Parilla… I was able to revisit the place and now, I got some pictures.

Isla Parilla, now A-Montana Resort, is located at Alabel, Saranggani Province. This place is conducive for holding large events such as birthday parties, weddings and business conferences. But for small groups who also want to spend a trip to the place, there are a bunch of amenities the resort can offer for you. The ambience in A-Montana is cool and calm and will let you get closer to nature.

The resort has a swimming pool for visitors who want to take a nippy and refreshing plunge. An entrance fee of Php50.00 is charged for swimmers and non-swimmers… Yes, non-swimmers will still be charged so it’s better to enjoy it than murmuring complains. Unless you really had a big reason not to swim (“,).

You can also enjoy fishing in their man-made lake and, likewise, go boating to make your stay more of a nature-trip. Their cultured milkfish are healthy and fresh. Then, enjoy meal-by-the-lake in their floating kiosks eating your cooked dish of freshly caught bangus (milkfish).

Experience Pinoy style Food with a Western twist at the resort’s Formosa Cafe. They also hold events especially during peak seasons like Summer, making your stay more entertaining. Moreover, the cafe has a floating veranda where you can take the pleasure of an al fresco dining.

A-Montana Resort offers room accommodations for those who want to stay overnight or longer. It has the Family Suites and the Single Cottages. For large group activities, an open function hall and the closed conference rooms are the options.

And don’t worry about the parking space because A-Montana has a wide open lot for vehicles to park.

Their other amenities are:

Billiards Hall
Videoke
Playground

Surely, a tour at A-Montana Resort is worthwhile. The place is just 30 minutes away from General Santos City.

We have been longing for a department teambuilding since first quarter of this year, however, due to a busy canning life it is always cancelled. Last weekend, we finally got our free time (well, some of us were free the whole day, I wasn’t).

We started walking around 5 A.M., at dahil nga mali na naman ang weather forecast that instead of a cloudy day ay naging sunny, bumati kaagad sa amin ang haring araw. One challenge that we had to face while walking.

Not the usual teambuilding activity… Kung baga, wala lang, trip trip lang… (“,)

Naglakad lang naman kami mula “Cannery Square” hanggang “London”… 48 years na lakaran din ‘yun… Sumakay na nga lang kami ng “hummer” kasi napagod kami… Sa tantsa ko, ang distance ay 100 kilometers (estimate ko nga eh ‘no. Walang aangal…) woohoo!… Kayo na bahala mg-interpret ng figure of speech na ‘to…

Bawi lang kasi sarap ng kain namin pagkatapos mapagod sa paglalakad… lolz! Pinawi ng Tanduay Ice ang uhaw namin (nila lang pala).

Unfortunately, I was only given about three hours to be with the team since I had prior commitments. But the little time I had with the group contributed to a large percentage of my physical activity for the whole day. Nakakapagod pero nag-enjoy kaming lahat. It was really a one-of-a-kind teambuilding. Naiibang trip ng naiibang grupo ng Dole Cannery Staff.